Colombians who have played for the Rapids

Seven players that were born in Colombia have played for the Colorado Rapids since 1996.

Rafael Amaya

Amaya was born in Bogota, Colombia but raised for much of his life in the United States. After attending high school in New York City, Amaya starred for Long Island University before returning to Colombia to begin his professional career with first division sides Deportivo Quindio and Independiente Santa Fe. But it was in Colorado that he established himself by playing for the then Colorado Foxes from 1990-95 and leading them to the A-League championships in 1992 and 1993. When Major League Soccer began in 1996, Amaya was acquired by the San Jose Earthquakes, where he played six games. Having kept his home in Denver, Amaya was acquired by the Rapids from the San Jose Earthquakes on January 7, 1997 in exchange for a 1998 Supplemental Draft pick. In his lone season at Mile High Stadium, he appeared in seven games.

Henry Zambrano

Zambrano, born in Soledad, Colombia, was acquired by the Rapids on February 14, 2000 from the MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls) in exchange for an international allocation. A member of the Colombian national team, 'El Ferry', as he was known, had scored three goals in 14 games for the MetroStars after arriving from Colombian side Atletico Nacional in the summer of 1999. The then 25-year old scored twice in 18 games for the Rapids in his only season in Colorado. He then returned to play in Colombia before his last stint in MLS, where he scored once in five games for DC United in 2002.

Carlos Valderrama

The Rapids acquired the legendary Santa Maria, Colombia native Carlos 'El Pibe' Valderrama from the Tampa Bay Mutiny on June 29, 2001 along with goalkeeper Scott Garlick and defender Ritchie Kotschau in exchange for goalkeeper Adin Brown, defender Scott Vermillion, and a first round pick in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft. By that time, the entire world knew of 'El Pibe,' the two-time South American player of the year who had represented Colombia in the 1990, 94, and 98 FIFA World Cups. In MLS, he was the king of assists, holding the MLS record of 114 until Steve Ralston surpassed him in 2007 - five years after Valderrama had retired. The telling sign of his contribution to a free flowing and entertaining Colorado attack in his final season as a professional in 2002, in which he dished out 16 assists: John Spencer, Chris Carrieri, and Chris Henderson each scored 11 goals.

Diego Serna

Serna, born in Medellin, Colombia, had established himself as a threat in MLS after scoring 52 goals in his first four seasons with the Miami Fusion. When the team was contracted, Serna was selected by the MetroStars in the Dispersal Draft with the 4th overall pick, which was acquired from the Rapids in exchange for Mark Chung in January 2002. After scoring one goal in eight games, he was traded to the New England Revolution where he scored once in five games. He then left to play in the United Arab Emirates before returning to play for the LA Galaxy in 2003. He scored three times in 10 games for LA and was later waived. He had been playing in his native Colombia with Once Caldas and Deportes Quindio for two years before signing with the Rapids on September 13, 2005. As you can see below, he didn't contribute much before being released.

Jaime Castrillon

Castrillon was signed in January 2012 after years at Independiente Medellin. In his first year, Castrillon took home the Golden Boot honors after leading the Rapids with eight goals scored during the regular season. He also finished second on the team in voting for the Most Valuable Player title. He was re-signed before the start of the 2013 season and had offseason knee surgery, which kept him off the field to start the campaign.

Harrison Henao

Harrison Henao, from Bella, Colombia, spent a few months with the Rapids in the summer of 2012. He was originally signed in April on loan from Once Caldas but was waived in July after only one regular season appearance as a holding midfielder.

Luis Zapata

The veteran Colombiam left back also joined the Rapids in 2012, signed in February after his most recent stint at Deportivo Poston. The former Deportivo Cali and Millonarios defender was the primary left back for the Rapids in 2012, appearing in 27 of the 34 regular season games. However he was released following the season as the team went in a different direction.